Pages

Monday, February 28, 2011

We usually join daddy on 1 or 2 of his business trips to Orlando each year and turn it into a Disney weekend for the girls. The girls LOVE staying at the hotel near his office because they have a breakfast buffet every morning and a pull out sleeper sofa. Oh the joys of being a kid. When daddy goes to work, we usually hit Lake Eola Park at least once. It's a nice stroll around the lake and the play area is really great. Here's a couple of pics of Rheagan climbing one of the huge jungle gyms there.

This layout is a scraplift of a layout submitted by Debbie to Scrapbook Circle's Facebook page. Each month we select a few layouts that have been posted to our Facebook page and the design team does their take on it. To see the original layout visit today's blog post on Scrapbook Circle. Here's my rendition of it. Thanks for the inspiration, Debbie!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

First I want to say that I am absolutely LOVING the new My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose collections. I got my hands on it last week and have been planning and playing with it as much as I can. I SWOON over it! I was determined to use it on this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I can't believe I don't have an ounce of pink or red in this layout and I like that for a change.

I recently celebrated my "still in my 30's" birthday in January. Hubby & I went to a kid-friendly restaurant with the girls and it was a school day so they were a bit tired but all in all it was a good dinner. I also chose the restaurant because of their dessert. It's called a cookie palooza and it's a giant, fresh baked chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on top. The girls hovered over me more than usual when it was bought out. Hubby was in charge of getting a photo of us that night and this is what he got.

I titled it "REALLY?" I crack up each time I look at this photo because this was the best of all the photos he took. I'm positive that he got the best he could. All they cared about was digging into that cookie. I mean, look at how my oldest is already licking her lips. I just find it funny how hard it is sometimes to get a good photo. In this case, I am glad we didn't get a perfect little photo of us girls because this is our reality and real life is not usually staged.

Hop on over to Sketchy Thursdays to see what the rest of the design team did with this sketch, Make sure to play along with us this week's sketch (below) for your chance to win a great prize from Blue Moon Scrapbooking!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Check this out...3 posts in a row, which means 3 days in a row for your chance to win the entire Berrylicious collection over on the Imaginisce blog. Have you been following the daily party over there? If not, head on over and be sure to comment on each days posts to increase your chances of winning.

I am switching it up a bit today from strawberries to the adorable lemon heads in this line. My reveal today is one of several cards I made with the new line.

I just love these little lemon heads. The moment I saw them and the "Pucker Up" die cut I just knew I needed to make a card. I think what I might do with this card is give it to a friend who is collecting items to send to her son's troop in Afganistan. I would love to gift this to a brave soldier to send to their someone special in hopes that just maybe I can put a smile on their face.

To make the card, I hand drew the super sized lemon and then stitched on it prior to adhering to the card. I used the Imaginisce Roly Posy to make the striped flower. I also used a CTMH stamp to make the sentiment and glued ribbon around the sentiment to make it look like another flower. I couldn't resist adding a bow and blue eyes to the larger lemon. Lastly, I added bling to the citrus fruit to make them pop.

Don't forget to swing by the Imaginisce blog for your chance to win you very own Berrylicious collection!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I'm back again to reveal some fun little projects I made with the new Imaginisce Berrylicious line. The second I saw this paper I new exactly what I would do with it. Did you see the layout I did yesterday, which included Reese in the adorable little strawberry outfit? I had just bought that outfit when Berrylicious arrived on my door step and I knew it would make THE best accessories for her little outfit. I made this "Berry Sweet" bracelet and hair clippy.

For the bracelet I used the chipboard circle that is leftover from the roll of glue dots. I cut strips of paper for the outside and inside. I mod podged the outer strip on and then adhered some ruffled ribbon around both edges. I put the inner strip on over the inside ribbon seams and then it was time to decorate it. I fussy cut an assortment of strawberries and the Berry Sweet saying. I mod podged them to protect them and make them a little sturdier. I really like how it turned out.

For the hair clip, I cut a circle about 1.5" diameter, then twisted red dotted ribbon around it adhering with fabri-tac. I made leaves by folding over the green strip from the Sweet Summer Garden paper and adhered them to the circle. After that I pulled out a Imaginisce Twist Alligator Clip and a Medium Twist brad and covered it with the Berry Patchy line. I trimmed the outer edge of the twist brad and red ribbon circle with green ruffle ribbon. Lastly, I punched out the middle of the red ribbon circle and instered that little twisty strawberry brad in and voila I had an adorable alligator clip for my daughter's new outfit.

Here's some pics of Reese all decked out in her Berrylicious accessories. Isn't she the "berry sweetest"???

Still here? Make sure to check out the blog at Imaginisce to see how you could win the entire Berrylicious collection!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Have you heard the news? Imaginisce has just released an adorable new line just in time for all your warmer weather activities. It's called Berrylicious. There is so much about this new line that I love and it can be used for so many different reasons.

Imaginisce is throwing a release party all week so keep an eye out on the blog for layouts, cards, altered projects and how-tos. You'll even have a chance to win some Imaginisce goodies to add to your scrapbook stash. To kick off the release party, here's a 'berrylicious" layout I made. Make sure to visit the Imaginisce blog to see what some of the other designers did.

Check back tomorrow to see a couple of the altered projects I made with the new line. Before you go, take a look at just a few of the items in the collection:

Sunday, February 20, 2011

I knew we were in trouble after we bought Reese her first pair of shoes. She absolutely LOVES shoes, like every girl should. She loves them so much that she tries on everyone's shoes that are lying around and she's even been known to take shoes off of someone while they are wearing them. She's also been spotted making a scene because I would only buy 1 of the 3 pairs of shoes she tried on a the store, more than once. This is all before the age of 2. Yes, I'm in trouble.

Anywho, this Sunday's challenge at The Studio is to use frames in your layout. I am using sketch #42 from Sketchabilities. I instantly thought of these pics of Reese playing with her 1st pair of shoes shortly after her 1st birthday.

I journaled on the back because I had so much to say about this. I love this paper collection from Bella Blvd, specifically the grid paper that I used as my background. The little sentiments sprinkled here and there are so sweet. After framing up the photos I wanted to do something to highlight a couple of those sentiments and the smaller pieces of chipboard frames that came in the pack were PERFECT for this. I covered 2 with coordinating paper and then crackled plain chipboard with Glossy Accents. It's quite obvious that I framed some of the photos but I also framed them all within the sentiments.

The sketch (added 2/28/11):

I hope you will play along with the challenge at The Studio and Sketchabilities. Make sure to check out what the rest of the design team did as well.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Today is my designer's choice day on the Scrapbook Circle blog and I chose to show how I use my scraps. I'm the definition of a hoarder when it comes to my scrap supplies. I have so many papers and embellies that are several years old that I'll never use. I am purging a lot right now but I still can't seem to get rid of that drawer full of scraps that I have. I am making a promise to use more of that stash this year. I'm not saying I won't keep my scraps but I'll only keep the ones I really think I will use in the next 2 - 3 months.

To kick off this new mindset I went with the most obvious way to use scraps - to create a card.

I used scraps from my Scrapbook Circle Happy Days kit as well as some elements from their digital download (border strip and caption). I love that little thought bubble. That is what actually kicked off the entire concept for this card. That bubble usually represents a thought and what is better than to tell someone you are thinking about them?

Here's a few more ideas of what you can do with scraps:

Cut them into squares or circles and use them as an embellishment or lay them out as a grid on a card or layout. I like it best when no two are alike but they coordinate. I did this in my card above.

Use a scrap with a cool design and turn it into a piece of jewelry - adhere to glass shapes with soft edges, dominoes, scrabble pieces; roll thin paper strips tightly around a needle into a ball to make beads, etc, etc.

Punch or fussy cut scraps into shapes for a layout or card, like stars, flowers, birds, etc.

Adhere scraps to chipboard shapes, letters, frames.

Cut scraps into triangles or semi-circles and string them as a banner.

Cut scraps into different size circles and layer them on top of each other to make flower-like embellishments, like the one above.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Sketchy Thursdays is teaming up with a new challenge site called Jingle Belles. I LOVE their concept - to make a new christmas card each & every week so that you can "take back December...one holiday card at a time!" What better way to not stress about cards at the most hectic time of the year and the bonus is that you can use up your scraps from last year's Christmas lines.

Sketchy Thursdays has brought back their Second Chance Challenges for this. One winner will be chosen on Sketchy Thursdays for a sponsored prize and one winner chosen on Jingle Belles for their sponsored prize so you have two chances to win but you must use the Sketchy Thursdays sketch and a CHRISTMAS theme in order to qualify for the prizes.

I used my scraps from the Echo Park line that I ran all over town looking for at Christmas time. I distressed the edges and stitched on the 2 paper strips before I glued them down so that the card recipient wouldn't see the stitching on the inside of the card. I fussy cut the holly and then used the Glossy Accents crackle to give it a veiny leafy look. I stamped "Magical" in green and then sprinkled Walnut Ink embossing crystals immediately over the ink and heat embossed it to give it some luster. I didn't use versamark because I only wanted an itsy bitsy bit of embossing powder to stick and to see the green through it. Lastly, I used silver pearl embossing powder to create edges around the card.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

I've been holding on to these pics of my little Daisy Scout at her pinning ceremony and today's new Sketchy Thursdays sketch was perfect for it. I used a cute little K&Company Girl Scout paper pack and Daisy stickers from Joanns for this.

Make sure to check out what the other design team gals did with the sketch. We'd love to see you play along for a chance to win a fabulous giveaway from Storyboard Kits.

Monday, February 14, 2011

I have been dying to play with these Sassafrass papers that I have had but there was always something else I needed to get to first. I have several "older", meaning so 2010, papers that I LOVE and haven't used yet and I am promising myself that I will use them this year, old and all. I'm just calling it fashionable late.

Anyhoo, I snapped these photos of little Reese and her daddy. She loves to sit and rock with him and they are usually watching football or some Discovery channel program together. She's usually all snuggled up in his lap but this time she was wide awake and wiggly. It was just too cute because every time he'd change positions with his legs she would mimic him.

OMG, this was a fussy cutter's paradise. Why can't I just leave well enough alone? So many intricate little cuts around the stitching and lace and everything else. I added as much dimension as I could with the chipboard and pop dots but the layout needed something more to complete it. I finally realized that it needed edging. I could have done what I love to do and doodled around it but I was staring at some embossing powders and I remembered a layout my friend, Audrey, recently posted on her blog and I had to try it. Instead of stamping with versa-mark, I pulled out my liquid glue and made random patterns. Then I sprinkled the olive green and walnut stain embossing powder over it and heat embossed it. It completed the layout perfectly!

Make sure to head over to Sketchabilities and check out what the other Design Team gals did with this sketch. You might also find that there's a prize up for grabs!!!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Can I just tell you how cute my little baby girl is??? She and I were waiting for her sister and daddy to ride Goofy's Barnstormer ride at Disney World last December and there was this cute little house/play area. She was walking all around and checking things out and I was just snapping pics of her being cute. I honestly can't remember registering in my mind that she was doing what she was doing. It wasn't until earlier this week when I was looking at some other pics of her at Disney at this same locale that I realized she was making hand puppets and playing with her shadow. These pictures became instantly priceless and were perfect for this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. I used the January kit from Scrapbook Circle, which has the perfect paper combos for what I had planned. Check out how darling she is.

I had a hard time with the title because I wanted it to say Me and My Shadow. Then I wanted it to say Minnie and her shadow but it doesn't quite have the same ring as Me & My Shadow so I combined the two by using a large M and E and squeezing "inni" between the two. Then came the delimna of using "my" or "her". I ultimately went with "my" since the primary focus of the squeezed up "MinniE" reads like "ME" from a distance. I like my decision...what would you have done?

Make sure to check out what the other design team girls did with this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch and play along for your chance to win a yummy package from Pink Ninja Addicts or for your chance to become the Sketchy Thursdays FAVE!

Monday, February 7, 2011

I created this sweet little layout in my hotel room while on business travel for my new job this past week. It's a little more simple than usual but that's okay every now and again.

Imaginisce offered up an optional challenge for us design team girls to create a LOVE themed layout. I pulled out the few items I had brought with me on the trip and chose to focus on the father/daughter kind of LOVE. How cute are these two?

I used the Imaginisce Garden Party line. Make sure to check out what some of the other DT girls did and find out how you could win your very own fabulous collection from one of our popular Imaginisce lines!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

I'm soooo excited to post my first design team challenge layout for The Studio. I love their Sunday challenges and this one did not dissapoint. I usually shy away from color challenges but after doing this one I realize I have been missing out. I combined this with the sketch #40 over at Sketchabilities and I used the Scrapbook Circle February kit, Happy Days.

Since this is supposed to be a LOVE themed layout I choose to focus on two people that I never scrap about. I ALWAYS focus on the kids so it was nice to dedicate a layout to just me & the hubby. I think the pictures show how happy we are, which worked out perfectly for me to journal a private "LOVE NOTE" on the back.

Friday, February 4, 2011

I am soo excited to be a part of the February Scrapbook Circle Blog Hop! I'm guessing you just arrived from LG's blog so WELCOME! If you are just learning about the hop here on my blog please start from the beginning by visiting the Scrapbook Circle blog.

As you hop from blog to blog you'll get a chance to "meet" each new design team member and see some of the projects we are doing with the February kit Happy Days. To make the hop even more exciting you will have a chance to win some fun prizes along the way! All you have to do is visit the Scrapbook Circle blog and leave a comment over there for a chance to win a February kit AND then hop around to each design team members blogs for a chance to win a $10 Scrapbook Circle store credit on each blog.

Here's a sneak of the February kit and one of the many projects I have created with it. I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch for this layout.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Wow, 2 posts in one day. If you missed my news this morning check out my 1st post from earlier today.

I am SOOO happy to announce that I was selected to be on the Scrapbook Circle Design Team for the next 6 months. I loved their kits so much that when my girlfriend, Audrey, told me about the DT call I sent my application right in. I got my first kit, Happy Days, about a week ago and OMG it is AMAZING. We have got some great things lined up for the month of February and I don't want to give too much away but be on the lookout for some HOPPIN' good opportunities to get your hands on your very own kit. Until then, I'm gonna kick off the 1st project of February with something we like to call One Item Wonder.

Do you ever get something and WONDER what you will do with that ONE ITEM? I am here to show you today what you can do with the transparency that came in February's Happy Days kit. I also created this layout for the February Crop Suey Challenge, which is to use 9 different types of items on a project.

The dreaded transparency (actually, I am really fond of these but I felt it needed dramatic effect). The one I was given to work with is the yellow framed one on the bottom left with red metallic graph lines inside.

So, check out how I did it and then head over to today's blog post at Scrapbook Circle to see what Diana W did with her transparency (and to leave some LOVE):

I took my x-acto knife and cut out the inside of the transparency to make a frame and adhered it to the photo to draw attention to the cute little kiddos.

I stamped a swirly image using black staz-on to the leftover transparency.

I cut out 4 scalloped circles. The transparency is SUPER thick and my punch would not penetrate it so I hand cut them. It doesn't have to be perfect because of what you will do next.

I took my heat embosser to them and melted away. They ended up curling up A LOT so while they were still warm I just kind of scrunched them in my hands. Disclaimer: use gloves to avoid heat injury.

I re-heated them if I didn't like the way they looked when cooled and it worked like a charm. Some of the transparency turned white, I guess where I applied the most heat and I really liked the effect.

Once I was happy with them I applied them to my layout - 1 as an accent on the middle right and the other 3 are stacked on top of each other on the bottom left.

Here's a close-up of the stacked "flower":

How cool is that? And did you pay attention to what my 9 items were? I used Pattern Paper, a Photo Corner, Journaling, faux Lace Borders, a Transparency, a Label, StazOn Ink, Ribbon, a Button, Flowers, Alphas. Okay, so maybe I used more than 9 :) Make sure to head over to Crop Suey starting on February 5th to learn more about the challenge and how you can enter for a chance to win the prize from our fabulous sponsor.

And what are you waiting for? Lisa still has a few of the February Happy Days kits left so get yours hands on one while you can. :)

Okay, I am so flippin' excited to share some WONDERFUL news. You know how I was voted to be the December guest designer for Sketchy Thursdays and then they asked if I'd be interested in guest designing in January too? Well I have absolutely LOVED my guest gig there and I guess they loved me too because they asked me to join their design team!!!! I didn't have to think too hard about decision. With that said, I don't like that one of their designers had to step down; her layouts were beautiful! I am happy to step in and play with Sketchy Thursdays for the next couple of months. Thanks Diana and Heidi for this opportunity. I can't wait to work with the amazing Sketchy Thursdays design team, including Julie who was just promoted to Social Director for Sketchy Thursdays :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):). Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wrapped up an amazing trip to my first ever CHA in sunny L.A. and I am about to head out to my first day at my new job at a small business (< 20 employees). The title on my business cards now reads "Vice President of Marketing" as well as "Account Director for HP". HP is the computer company I just left (>300,000 employees). Talk about a culture change. My new company is based out of L.A. so I'll be officing out of my home in the Houston suburbs. This is a tremendous opportunity for me and my family. So, wish me luck today!

Stay tuned because in a few minutes I will be posting my first LO as a desinger for Scrapbook Circle.

Love My Visitors

Visitors

This is my personal blog, where I share personal life events & crafts created by me, Heather Leopard. Below is a list of manufacturers/companies (in alphabetical order) I am currently working for, either as a designer and/or in a marketing capacity: Pebbles, Inc. (designer), Elle's Studio (designer), Scrapbook Circle (teacher) plus guest designer & publishing opportunities as described on my resume page.

While I am compensated by these companies, either monetarily or in product, I always say what I truly think of their products. The views and opinions expressed here on my blog are solely my own. I will not recommend something that I don't personally use and enjoy. The projects found here on my blog, The Spotted Leopard, have been created using products I have purchased and/or products I have gotten for free. I am not required to disclose, on my blog, if the projects shown were created using products I received for free or if they were my personal purchases. If you have any questions, please contact me at heather @ heatherleopard . com

All content (designs, photos/images, creative how-tos/instructions, etc.) posted on this blog are my original creations, unless otherwise noted. The content shared on this blog is for my personal use only and may not be re-posted, blogged, distributed or sold in any form without specific permission from Heather Leopard. Please respect my work and if it inspires you or your project, please give credit where credit is due by linking back to this blog. I don't mind if you copy my work for your own personal use because it inspired you, but please don't copy my work or anyone’s work for that matter, if you intend to publish it or claim it as your own. That’s just not cool and I’m sure you wouldn’t want it to happen to you either.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

I also participate in other affiliate programs. Product links contained in this blog include affiliate links. You don't pay any extra, but I get a small percentage of your sale.